UFC President Dana White looks on during the UFC 225: Whittaker v Romero 2 event at the United Center on June 9, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili fight in the same division and are friends
Dana White is not a fan of what is happening between Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili.
The two are teammates on Serra-Longo and fight in the Bantamweight division of the UFC. Their friendship has been a talking point for quite a while, especially with Dvalishvili moving up the rankings.
The Georgian has time and again admitted he would not want to fight his friend, Aljamain Sterling for the title. However, things took a massive turn at UFC 292. Sterling, the champion, lost his title to Sean O’Malley and there have been conversations about who gets the title shot next.
Sterling should be the one to get a rematch given that he had three title defences. However, the former champion has spoken about fighting again when the time is right. Dvalishvili is ranked #2 in the division is on a 9-fight winning streak, and could be the next challenger for O’Malley.
Then there is the case of Marlon Vera. ‘Chito’ Vera was also on the UFC 292 card and he got a win. He also is the only person to have defeated Sean O’Malley ever. However, Vera is ranked #6 in the division and giving him a title shot now would seem a little out of place, solely due to his rankings.
O’Malley even called out Vera after his win at UFC 292.
The UFC president, Dana White, however, isn’t a huge fan of the stalemate taking place between the two friends.
Dvalishvili has claimed that he would wait for the fight between O’Malley and Sterling to take place before deciding on going for the gold.
White was speaking to the media after the latest Contender Series show, and had a real go at the two UFC stars (h/t MMA Junkie):
“Yeah, I hate it and if that’s – why did you even get into this sport if that’s your mentality in the way that you think? ‘I don’t even want the title. I don’t even want the championship. We’re friends, we’re this, we’re that.’”
White continued that this wasn’t about “friendship” but finding out who the best is in the world. He further added that the UFC is not the place for people who don’t care about finding out who is the best.
Sterling did respond to these comments and suggested that White should give the title shot to Dvalishvili, however, it is to be seen what happens next.
The UFC has three names to set up against O’Malley and Sterling seems to be the right option. However, will O’Malley wait for Aljo? That is the question on everyone’s minds.
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